Running for Their Lives
by bionic4ever
Summary: RFTL1: The NSB is holding a suspect in a double murder at the Pentagon. It's Jaime. Can Oscar and Steve clear her before Hansen has her executed?
1. Chapter 1

**Running For Their Lives**

Chapter One - NSB Headquarters - 8/12/84 - 4:00am

Steve staggered groggily into the NSB conference room, ignored Hansen and Kirk and spoke directly to his boss. "Oscar, you know how much I love these middle of the night calls - and seeing these two at this hour is a really special treat - so what's up?"

Oscar's face was deathly serious. "There was a break-in last night at the Pentagon; the War Room."

"That's supposed to be impenetrable," Steve interrupted.

"It was."

"Did they catch someone?"

"Yup. Subject is charged with Burglary, Destruction of Government Property, Felony Theft of Government Records...and Double Homicide. Two guards were killed."

"Shot?" Steve asked.

"Broken necks," Hansen told him grimly.

"So why am I here?" Steve wondered. "You need me to do an interrogation? I'm sure you've got better people for that -"

"Steve -"

"I mean, I could give it a shot, but -"

"Steve," Oscar said quietly, "go take a look at the prisoner in Interrogation Room A. But look through the one-way glass; don't open the door."

Steve walked down the hall, peered through the glass, and felt as though someone had punched him in the chest, stealing all his air. He literally couldn't breath, couldn't move. Seated at the table in the tiny room, in shackles and chains, looking confused, frightened and very much alone, was...Jaime. Steve nearly sank to his knees in shock. He didn't see Oscar standing behind him until the older man placed a hand on his shoulder to bring him back to reality.

"Oscar," he said, very slowly, "please tell me that's Lisa Galloway."

"Sorry, Pal. Lisa's locked up under heavy guard in the federal pen."

"Which is where she's going," Hansen said, joining them. "If I don't have her executed."

Oscar looked angrily toward the NSB Director. "Do you suppose you and your lackey could conduct your business somewhere else for a little while, and let me talk to my operative?"

"Which one? The ex-pilot who crashed a 30-million dollar project, or the double-murderer?"

Oscar's face and neck turned crimson with rage. "Go, Jack. Now."

"Nice people you got working for you Goldman - some real winners," Hansen said snidely as he and Kirk boarded the elevator.

"Ignore him," Oscar told Steve. "Let's go back to the conference room."

It took Steve several minutes after they were re-seated before he could speak. "That's not Jaime...it can't be."

"When was the last time you saw her, Pal?"

"About six months ago, we had our physicals with Rudy at the same time."

"How was she then?"

"No different than usual. Oscar - Jaime would die before she'd betray her country. You know that."

"I do. But I have to deal with facts, here, Steve. She hasn't worked for me in quite awhile, because she was so upset and bitter when they denied her retirement. I've been giving her an unofficial retirement and pretty much leaving her to herself. Anything could've happened. She could've grown angrier, could've been offered a truckload of money -"

"There is no way!" Steve shook his head emphatically. "Is she telling you she's Jaime? What did she say?"

"Nothing. So far, she hasn't uttered a word."

"Here's a solution for you: cut a finger on her right hand. When she bleeds, you'll know she's not Jaime."

"I had to get a court order to do that; it just arrived. I've got Rudy on his way, and he's going to take a blood sample for DNA testing. He'll make a small cut on her right index finger at the same time," Oscar explained.

Steve nodded. "What did you need me to do?"

"In the meantime, like I told you, she's refused to say a word. You've known Jaime pretty much her whole life. I'd like you, if you think you can handle it, to go in there and try to talk with her. Look in her eyes..."

"And tell you if I see Jaime or a stranger?"

"Basically, yes."

"Ok," Steve agreed. "Maybe she'll even talk to me."

"Thanks, Pal. I know this is difficult, and I do appreciate it."

Steve nodded again and headed back down the hall.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - Interrogation Room A - NSB Headquarters

The prisoner at the table did not react when Steve entered the room. Instead of sitting down, he began pacing directly in front of her, in what would've been her line of vision if she wasn't staring blankly into space. He forced a harsh tone into his voice. "Burglary, Destruction of Government Property, Felony Theft, Double Homicide," he recited loudly, "Quite a rap sheet. You'd think if someone put that much effort into a job, they'd want credit for it, but you won't even tell us your name!" Steve slammed his fist down on the table hard enough to make the table jump, but not enough to break it. The prisoner didn't jump, didn't flinch, didn't even blink.

"You should get credit for your accomplishments," he told her. "What's your name?" Nothing. Steve pounded the table again, this time splintering it to pieces. "Dammit! **_Who are you_**?" Still getting no response, he pulled a chair into the pile of table pieces, sitting as close as he could get to her, virtually knee-to-knee, and looking deeply into her eyes. "Look," he said, much more softly, "I'm here to help you. Please...let me help you?"

The deep hazel eyes met his gaze for one brief millisecond before continuing to stare at nothing. That second spoke volumes to Steve. He saw a desperately frightened little girl, one who needed and wanted help but had no idea how to get it. And, to his dismay, he saw _Jaime_. He found her hand amidst the shackles and held it tightly. "You need to let me in, Sweetheart. Hansen's pushing to have you executed. You need help." Still, she said nothing. "I know who you are. And I love you, Jaime."

A slight tear formed in the corner of one of her eyes. Her mouth opened and closed several times before one small sound came out. "Steve..." she whispered. Instantly, she was jolted upright in her seat, a look of intense, unbearable pain on her face. She made no attempt to say anything more.

It was enough. Steve now understood, without a doubt, exactly what was going on. He left the interrogation room and ran down the hall to find Oscar. His boss looked up questioningly. "Well?"

"She's Jaime. Oscar, I need a pencil and some paper - fast. I'll explain when I'm done." Steve collected what he needed and returned to the prisoner. He quickly wrote on the paper: _Jaime, is someone listening to us right now?_ He showed it to her, and she nodded silently.

Steve put the pencil to the paper again: _Don't pay any attention to what I say out loud; only to what I write down, ok? _Jaime nodded. Steve began yelling at her while simultaneously writing what he really wanted to say.

"You know they're going to execute you, right?" he shouted. "As in dead, gone, fried. That what you want?" The paper read _Jaime, do they have some way to hurt you, right now?_ Jaime nodded emphatically, trembling.

"C'mon, Mata Hari - what's your name?" _Is it some kind of device, an implant? _She nodded again. "Staring like a zombie is only gonna get you one thing - dead! If you're ok with that, fine!" _Do you know where it is?_ Jaime pointed to a spot just behind her right ear. "I'll just leave you to it, then. Your choice; your funeral." _Don't worry, Sweetheart - you're going to be ok._ Their eyes met once again, and Steve gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Rudy was coming down the hall when Steve emerged from the room. He grabbed the doctor lightly by his arm to stop him. "Rudy, before you go in there, I need to talk to you." Steve led him to the conference room, where Oscar was waiting, and closed the door. "It's an implant," Steve told them urgently. "Some kind of chip in her brain or in her ear. They can hear her, and they can hurt her - badly - if she opens her mouth. Rudy, she pointed to a spot near her right ear. Can you find it and remove it without them being able to hear it?"

"If it's what I'm picturing," Rudy answered, "a white noise box should jam it."

"I'll have a page get one right away," Oscar added.

"And Rudy, you don't need a DNA test. I looked in her eyes, and I can tell you, 1000 percent: that is Jaime."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three - OSI Director's Office - 8/12/84 - 1:00pm

Rudy Wells strode excitedly into Oscar's office and placed a miniscule metal device on his desk. "Here you go - this is it. Her ear was re-wired so it transmitted to wherever these people are - no way to trace that, unfortunately. Then this little piece of work (he motioned to the device) had the power to zap her with enough voltage to damn near kill her, if she said or did something wrong. I found traces in Jaime's blood of two separate hypnotic drugs and possibly a hallucinogen as well. If she was at the Pentagon, she has no memory of it and was definitely not responsible for what happened."

"Rudy, thank you," Oscar said, smiling at him. "That's wonderful news. I've arranged for Jaime to be transferred to OSI custody, and with your report, we should be able to get her released."

"The sooner, the better," Rudy agreed. "I'd like to admit her for a good long rest, and run a battery of tests, but having the NSB hanging out in the hallways just isn't conducive to a patient's recovery."

Hansen suddenly threw the office door open, stormed into the room and slammed it behind him. "Alright, Goldman, one chance to answer before I have you up on conspiracy charges. Where are Austin and Sommers?"

"Deep breath, Hansen. I couldn't tell you where Steve is, but Jaime Sommers is in the process of being transferred to OSI custody as we speak. Agent Clark should be picking her up from -"

"Wrong! Someone claiming to be Agent Clark came and took her away, but then the real Agent Clark showed up, and when we pulled the security tape - lo and behold - it was Austin. Now they're both gone, and I'll have your head on a platter for this one, Goldman. If you can't keep your own people on their leashes -"

"First of all," Oscar said angrily, "it was _your _people who allowed her to be released to the wrong agent. Second, I'd like to find her even more than you would, because I've got the information that will clear her of all charges."

"I wouldn't count on that," Hansen argued.

"Let's handle one thing at a time," Oscar argued. "First, we need to find Jaime and Steve, and then you can do your bloody well best to try and sink your claws into them. Isn't gonna happen."

Hansen shook his head. "Two executions are always better than one..."

------------

OSI Safehouse - Baltimore - 6:45pm

"We can't stay here too long," Steve told Jaime, as he showed her to one of the bedrooms. "We'll have to leave before morning, but at least you can get some rest. You look beat." Jaime's face was pale, her manner weary. She smiled weakly at him.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'm really not too tired, and I'll keep an eye out for the Goon Squad while you rest."

"Steve - thank you." The minute her head hit the pillow, Jaime was sound asleep. Steve watched her for a little while, wondering how in the world he'd ever be able to tell her what had happened at the Pentagon. She'd still been feeling the effects of whatever she'd been shot up with while in the interrogation room, and had missed his 'double homicide' comment. The fact that two lives had been lost at her hands, even if she had no control at the time, was going to devastate her. Steve prayed she could at least have a restful night before they faced whatever was ahead of them.

------------

Rudy's Lab - Washington DC - 7:00pm

Rudy nearly quivered with excitement and relief as he dialed Oscar's number. "I've got good news," he told his friend.

"I could sure use some," Oscar muttered.

"I was able to re-activate the signal on the shock device that was used to hurt Jaime. I've got a location for you."

"Wonderful. Do me a favor, Rudy? Don't give that address to anyone but me. I'm on my way over."

------------

Safe House - Baltimore - 11:10pm

Steve sat in the living room, staring through the crack between the curtain and the wall at the front of the house. He looked up to see Jaime standing quietly behind him. "You're supposed to be sleeping," he told her gently.

"I did. Some, anyway. But I kept waking up with this awful, panicky feeling. Finally gave up."

"Sweetheart, I'm not sure how long it might be before there's an actual bed -"

Jaime stopped him. "Shh-hh." She was listening closely to something. "Steve," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking, "We have to get out. Now."

"What do you -"

Jaime grabbed his arm and pulled him from the house, out the back door and into the surrounding woods. Steve heard the deafening roar of an explosion and looked up to see the house they had been in turn into a huge orange fireball, filling the night sky.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four - Baltimore - 8/12 - 11:30pm

Steve held Jaime tightly in his arms, trying to shield her from the sight of the fireball. He didn't know what to tell her or how to explain this. He couldn't bring himself to say that either the group that had used her to commit multiple felonies - including murder - may have just tried to kill them, or that it could possibly have been a branch of their own government. If they were very lucky, whoever it was would believe they were still inside the burning pile of rubble that used to be a house.

Steve had taken Jaime on the run before Rudy's news that could officially clear her had come to light. If he had known, though, it wouldn't have made a difference in his actions. There was so much long-standing animosity between the NSB and the OSI that Hansen would've tried to push an execution through before a court or tribunal had a chance to clear her. Steve knew that no matter what Rudy found, he and Jaime were in a desperate race against time, for their very lives. By running with her, Steve was now in the same trouble Jaime was in, but he wouldn't have had it any other way. They would go back to Washington, but only when they had their own solid, concrete evidence to clear her.

Steve had to find out what, if anything, Jaime remembered about what had happened to her. In doing so, he faced the unenviable task of telling her what had happened at the Pentagon. First, though, he had to find a safe, quiet place where they could talk, uninterrupted, at least for a little while.

OSI Director's Office - 8/13 - 3:00am

Rudy had finally finished the report that would hopefully clear Jaime and was on his way home when he saw the lights still on in Oscar's office and decided to drop in. He found his friend still at his desk, hard at work.

"Alright. Call me if you hear anything at all. Thank you." Oscar hung up the phone. "Good morning," he said to Rudy.

"I'm guessing it's still night for you. Have you slept at all?"

"I'll sleep after I find them," Oscar insisted.

"Time to catch up on your zzz's, then," Hansen announced, letting himself in without knocking. "We found your missing agents." Oscar and Rudy exchanged a worried glance and tried to ignore the sinking feeling they both had in their stomachs. "I got a call from Kirk in the field," Hansen told them. "Sommers and Austin were located - and neutralized."

Rudy swallowed hard. "Tell me you don't mean -"

"They're dead - you should've kept 'em on their leashes, Goldman," Hansen said, with a little too much satisfaction. "If they were lucky, the explosion took 'em. Otherwise, they burned. Didn't find bodies, but with the entire property in ashes, that's not surprising."

Oscar, overcome by grief and rage, could only manage two words: "**Get out**!" When Hansen was gone, Oscar lowered his head to his desk and silently mourned his fallen friends.

Annapolis, MD - 8/13 - 4:15am

Steve forced open the door to the bomb shelter and helped Jaime down the darkened stairs, securing the door behind them. It was an ideal place to hide for a few hours; there were blankets, cans of food and bottles of water. Also a telephone which, to Steve's surprise, actually worked. He didn't dare use it until they were ready to move on, though.

He made a nest of blankets on the floor and tenderly wrapped one around Jaime's shoulders. He looked at her closely. She was shivering and her teeth were chattering. It was 82 degrees outside, so Steve guessed she was in shock. She had been through so much in the last 48 hours: probable captivity, the incident at the Pentagon, interrogation by the NSB, and now a nearly successful attempt on her life. Shock wasn't surprising at this point. Steve opened a can of fruit cocktail and a bottle of water and gave them to Jaime. She drank nearly all the water in one long gulp, but merely picked a little at the fruit and set down the can.

Deep in his heart, Steve knew she wasn't a traitor or a cold-blooded killer. He braced himself; it was time to talk.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five - OSI Director's Office - 8/13 - 7:30am

Oscar was doing his best to cope with necessary details after his second sleepless night in a row. Rudy, just back from a quick trip to Baltimore to survey the rubble for any signs of Jaime or Steve, had hoped to find him asleep on the office sofa. That way, his friend would be rested when he saw what Rudy had found. Rudy doubted Oscar would get much sleep afterward.

"Oh - you're still up?" the doctor stated the obvious, putting off his unpleasant news.

"Tell me you're bringing good news, Rudy."

"I'm sorry..." he answered, unable to look at Oscar's face. He handed Oscar a thin, gold bracelet. "I found this on the ground on the outer edge of the ash pile," he said quietly. "It's Jaime's." He stopped, then began again. "It - _was_ Jaime's. She always took it off when she went to bed; I remember from the last time she was in the hospital."

"There was nothing else?" Oscar asked.

Rudy shook his head. "Oscar, there wasn't even a house there anymore - just ashes. It burned awfully fast, awfully hot."

Oscar fingered the thin, gold chain and his eyes filled with tears that he would shed later, in private. Jaime had meant more to him than the "like a daughter" relationship that both claimed to have had - so much more. Oscar had never had the heart to try and rip her from Steve's arms and had never told her how he really felt. Rudy, however, knew him well enough to practically read his mind. He placed a comforting hand on Oscar's shoulder and said, very softly, "She knew. C'mon, I'll drive you home."

Annapolis - 8/13 - 7:30am

At the same moment that Oscar was holding back his tears, Jaime was unable to do the same. She buried her head on Steve's shoulder and cried longer and harder than Steve remembered ever seeing her cry before. He rubbed her back, smoothed her hair and just kept holding her until her sobs turned into choked words that she could barely bring herself to utter, much less accept.

"I...killed...two people?"

"No - no, Sweetheart, _you_ didn't. But that's why it's so important for you to try and remember anything you can about what happened right before you got to the NSB."

"Steve, I don't even remember getting there; it was more like - all of a sudden, there I was."

"What's the last thing you remember before that happened? Any little detail, even if it doesn't seem important, might be exactly what we need to figure this out." Jaime was silent, but Steve could see she really was trying. "Did you faint, pass out? Was there a funny smell, like chloroform, or did you eat or drink something that tasted funny?"

"No. All I remember is going to bed, two or three or maybe four nights ago - the time kinda melts together."

"They may have broken in and chloroformed you while you slept. Anything at all after that, Sweetheart? A name, a face - anything?"

Jaime thought hard. "Everything seems all swirled together...and the one thing I do remember, it has to be after the NSB picked me up...the face I remember seeing...it was Kirk."

Steve instantly picked up the phone and dialed Oscar's office. For the first time ever, there was no answer.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six - Arlington, VA - 8/14 - 12:05am

Steve and Jaime had been hiding in a grove of trees across the street from the house for several hours. A property title check Steve had performed showed this house to be owned by Agent Kirk, and listed as vacant. On a hunch, with nothing else to go on, they had traveled here to check it out. The house had struck an immediate chord with Jaime, although she couldn't say why. Steve guessed she had been brought there for whatever had been done to her before she'd been taken to the Pentagon. The house was obviously not vacant, since they could clearly make out at least four or five separate silhouettes behind the closed curtains, but there was no sign of Kirk.

Steve was beginning to fear it had been a wasted journey, when a large black van with no windows pulled into the driveway. "Steve -" Jaime whispered urgently, "I _know_ that van!" It was followed almost immediately by half a dozen government vehicles (OSI and FBI, thankfully) and a small blue hatchback. "That's Rudy's car!" Jaime exclaimed as she started toward it. Steve grabbed her arm and gently held her back.

"Let's wait, Sweetheart, until we know for sure what this is." He held onto her hand, feeling her gripping his tightly in return. For the first time in almost two days, they both saw a ray of hope.

G-men emerged from the first five vehicles and swarmed the black van, their guns drawn. "Who's in the other car?" Jaime asked.

Steve focused in and grinned. "It's Jack Hansen." If something was up with Kirk, Steve hoped Hansen would feel the sort of humiliation he'd been trying to heap on Oscar at NSB headquarters. Or was Hansen in on this, too? And just what, exactly was _'this'?_

Without realizing it, Steve and Jaime began moving forward, out of the trees as the drama continued unfolding. Kirk was pulled from the van, thrown roughly to the ground and placed in handcuffs and shackles. As the two of them began to cross the street, both doors on Rudy's car flew open, and Rudy stood in the street, staring, while Oscar moved toward them, slow and zombie-like, disbelieving what his own eyes were telling him.

"They - told me you were dead," Oscar said slowly, wrapping them both in a tight, most un-Oscar-like bear hug. The trio moved as a unit toward Rudy and pulled him in as well. They were just about to start catching each other up on events when Kirk began to scream, wild and incoherent, into the night air.

"You don't understand! I'm not the one going down. He is!" Kirk turned and pointed at Oscar. "He's the one who can't control his people - my God, one of them committed double homicide! That should be my job now, and I damned well earned it -"

That was all they heard before Kirk was shoved into the lead car and quickly driven away. Jack Hansen emerged reluctantly from his vehicle and walked toward the four-way group hug, which separated and spread out to listen to him, rather than inviting him to join their celebration.

"I...owe all of you an apology. Especially you, Miss Sommers. I'm truly sorry for everything you've had to endure these last few days, and -" Jaime glared at him coldly, turned her back and walked away.

"Give her time," Steve said. "She's been to hell and back. Eventually, she'll grow to hate you like I do instead of despising you like she does now." He, too, turned his back on Hansen and walked away. Rudy and Oscar started toward Rudy's car, but Oscar just couldn't resist turning around for just one reason.

"Hansen!" he called, "You know, you really should keep your own people on their leashes." Then Oscar, like his friends, turned and smiled as he walked away.

END


End file.
